All Hail West Texas was released on February 19, 2002. It is the sixth full-length studio album by The Mountain Goats and is the last album recorded using band leader John Darnielle’s beloved. We - and our partners - use cookies to deliver our services and to show you ads based on your interests. By using our website, you agree to the use of cookies as described in our Cookie Policy. The Mountain Goats June 01, 2015 The Fillmore San Francisco, CA Source: [SBD > M10] + [Schoeps CCM4’s (8’ up, board area) > Tinybox > M10] => FLAC Mastering (BLG): Adobe Audition (edits,alignment,mixdown) > iZotope Ozone 5 (EQ,Exciter,Dynamics,Imaging) > WavePad (tracking) > xACT (tags) > FLAC 01 Intro 02 Blood Capsules 03 Cry for Judas 04.

1. Mountain Goats West Texas Rarebit
2. West Texas Wiki
3. Mountain Goats West Texas Rara
4. The Mountain Goats All Hail West Texas Rar
5. Texas Goat Meat

Hello everyone and welcome back to another late edition (this one's my fault this time folks, damn last week and summer messing up my time) of For Your Consideration! This week, /u/listerinebreath talks the Mountain Goats' All Hail West Texas.

Artist:The Mountain Goats

Album:All Hail West Texas

Listen:

Background by /u/listerinebreath

With a name like “The Mountain Goats” most people would assume a group, a band, or even a duo. However, for the first decade, 6 albums, and countless demos, the name referred to one man, John Darnielle. All recordings and releases in this time period were lo-fi home recordings, mostly on his trademarked Panasonic RX-FT500 Boom Box.

2002 saw the release of 2 albums, All Hail West Texas ending the era of lo-fi solo work, and Tallahassee starting a new era of more produced albums with additional band members. Both eras feature Darnielle's distinct nasally voice, brilliant lyrics, and catchy guitar hooks.

The Mountain Goats have a terrifyingly large catalog of music, with well over 500 songs. Many of the songs can be categorized into defined themes and story lines. There's three dozen “Alpha Couple” songs which depict a married couple who mutually loathe each other, 50 songs titled “Going to _____”, a hand full of “Orange Ball of _______”,”Song For ____”, “Pure ____”, and “Standard Bitter Love Song#1-8”. (more info here. ) Their two most well known songs are both post-solo songs, “No Children”, a quintessential Alpha Couple song off Tallahassee, and “This Year” off 2005's The Sunset Tree.

Review by /u/listerinebreath

With a discography as deep as The Mountain Goats, picking an essential album is tough. Most fans will argue between 3: All Hail West Texas, Tallahassee, and The Sunset Tree. While all are fantastic in their own right, for me, its a no-brainer. All Hail West Texas is easily one of my most listened to albums of all time. It is John Darnielle's master work, the apex of a brilliant mind's accomplishments. Prior to AHWT, his song writing hadn't been perfected, his guitar playing was a little sloppy at times, sometimes adding to the charm, but in other cases, simply interrupting the immersion in the songs. After AHWT, while the song writing and instrumentation arguably improved, the songs lose some of the rawness and authenticity of the lo-fi sound he had worked so long to master.

It is important to note that unlike his earlier albums, AHWT was lo-fi by choice. When starting out, Darnielle didn't have access to a recording studio, or expensive recording equipment, so he worked with what he had: an acoustic guitar and a Panasonic RX-FT500 Boom Box. Years later, despite gaining enough of a following and earning enough money to record a proper studio album, he chose to record AHWT in his classic means, while utilizing every advantage to make sure every track came out exactly as he imagined. The whirring of the tape between tracks is no longer a necessary artifact, but an essential addition to the set and setting of the album, acting as a metronome at times for the transitions between tracks. By the end of the album, the sound is a welcome friend, embodying the personality and loneliness of the album. The minimalist production of the album really gives the feeling that you are sitting on a floor in an empty one bedroom house, in the middle of the desert, listening to Darnielle sing his heart out to you.

Many or most of tMG's albums can be considered concept albums. The most recent, Beat the Champ, centers around professional wresting. AHWT, while not explicitly a concept album, has many qualities that fit the criteria. The album cover features the description “Fourteen songs about seven people, two houses, a motorcycle, and a locked treatment facility for adolescent boys” though only a few of these are perfectly evident from listening to the album. It also consistently features locations in (shocker) West Texas. Additionally, the album loosely plays out as a chronological life story of sorts, from grade school, through love, marriage, divorce and the aftermath.

The album opens up on a series of 2 songs sung in 3rd person, “The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton” mentioning grade school, and “The Fall of the Star High School Running Back” depicting a tragic, yet somewhat comical high school anecdote. “Color in your Cheeks” tells of a communal abode with comfort-inducing beverages, which could either be a college/early adulthood party house, or alternatively, the fabled “locked treatment facility for adolescent boys.”

From there, we come to the love story. “Jenny” embodies the feelings of true bliss and infatuation that come with the beginning of a relationship. Sadly, if were keeping up the belief that these songs are sequential, things don't work out so well for Jenny and our poetic narrator. “Fault Lines” and “Balance” both deal with the struggles of young adulthood, and relationships. Over indulgence, poor planning, loans, and the beginning of a broken home. Then comes “Pink and Blue” the only song where “you” does not refer to a significant other or a high school running back, but rather, a baby. Though the baby is never referenced in another song, it certainly fits the approximate life story. The next two tracks are two of the most heart felt tracks in recorded music. “Riches and Wonders” describes the true love felt between two people while subtly hinting at the deterioration, and “The Mess Inside” tells of the great lengths a couple goes to to save their relationship to no avail. Anyone who has ever loved anyone can relate to these tracks, and the raw emotion in Darnielle's delivery is unparalleled.

The remaining tracks all refer in some way to a past relationship. “Jefferson Davis County Blues” is a geographically accurate (Per this /r/themountaingoats photo story depiction of a morning waking up in jail, and reluctantly heading home. “Distant Stations” is about avoiding an ex while living at a motel. “Blues in Dallas” the only track featuring a Casiotone keyboard rather than acoustic guitar, and while not explicitly a breakup song, certainly fits the bill of a bitter recently single man. “Source Decay”, probably the most upbeat song on the back half of the album, is about holding onto a relationship many years past. And finally the closer, “Absolute Lithops Effect” is about being weak and vulnerable, but woring toward progressing and moving on.

Few people will praise Darnielle on his guitar skills. He even has a song (unreleased, but live staple 'You were Cool')which starts with the line “This is a song with the same four chords I use most of the time...” Regardless, I'll be damned if he can't write a (hi-diddle-dee-dee) goddamn catchy riff. Each of the first 5 tracks on AHWT features a riff that can put a huge grin on my face every time I listen. Even “Blues in Dallas” despite sounding like it's played on a child's toy, could not have been written without a profound understanding of music and songwriting.

AHWT is one of those albums that gets better with each listen. It's a good album to wake up to, and a good one to fall asleep to. It's a great headphones album, but also a good album to play with friends. It's at times light hearted, and others heart wrenching. It'll make you laugh out loud, and then choke back tears. There are very few works of music that can take you on such an emotional journey in a mere 42 minutes.

Favorite Lyrics by /u/listerinebreath

When you punish a person for dreaming his dream

Don't expect him to thank or forgive you.

The best ever death metal band out of Denton

Will in time both outpace and out live you

Hail Satan!

• The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton

You pointed your headlamp toward the horizon.

We were the one thing in the galaxy God didn't have his eyes on

• Jenny

And it's gone on like this, for 3 years, I guess

And we're drunk all the time and our lives are a mess

And the deathless love we swore to protect with our bodies

Is stumbling across its bleak ending

• Fault Lines

Mountain Goats West Texas Rarebit

I am healthy, I am whole

but I have poor impulse control

and I want to go home

but I am home

West Texas Wiki

• Riches and Wonders

Talking Points

Mountain Goats West Texas Rara

• What do you think of All Hail West Texas?

• Do you think this is the best Mountain Goats album?

• What are your thoughts on the songwriting and lyrics of this album?

• What are your thoughts on the production?

• And finally, does this album deserve a place on the essentials list?

Special thanks once again to /u/listerinebreath for his great write-up on this album! If you would like to do an FYC, send me a message telling me what album, artist, and why you want to do an FYC on it. Here's the schedule for upcoming FYC's:

The Mountain Goats All Hail West Texas Rar

Texas Goat Meat